ZeeLander | Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

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Reviews by MNPikey:

More User Reviews:

Very nice showcase of the Nelson Sauvin hop. Great hoppy aroma with a lot of white wine characteristics. Taste followed the aroma, very juicy. The mouthfeel was great, smooth, distinctly similar in structure to other Toppling Goliath hoppy beers. Not sure if it is as good as pseudoSue, but it is pretty close IMO.

This brew was served on tap at Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in Decorah, Iowa. It showed a pale but darkened straw coloring through the tasting glass, and held a strong two to three finger head of cream colored bubbles. Classically stitched laced and patterned lacing was left around our glasses. A chill haze cut clarity, but no sediment was noted. Carbonation appeared to be mildly active. The aroma smells like a freshly cut and drippingly sappy Douglas fir. Otherwise, nosable notes include intensely herbal and piney hops, marijuana freshness, wet oregano, pencil pseudowoodiness, toasty rye, amber, and pale grain, peach and strawberry fruitiness, Triscuit crackers, orange zest and watered juiciness, pickled ginger, iron and sand, paper mache, boiled oats, table salt, and raw popcorn kernels. The flavoring perfectly showcased those piney, herbal, and earthen Nelson Sauvin hops, bubblegum esters, both toasty and raw pale and amber malts, fresh honeycomb sweetness, buttered popcorn diacetyls, resinous grassy saps, cold bamboo shoots, dill weed and dandelion, bittered mineral and slate, moist cereal grain, garlic airs, copper, well-water richness, distant and washed cherry skin sweetness, clay, and dried autumn leafiness. The body was medium, and the carbonation was moderate. Each sip gave fantastic slurp, smack, cream, froth, and pop to the finished body, with wetted pucker felt around the mouth. The abv was appropriate, and the beer drank back very quickly.

Overall, what a fantastic use of Nelson Sauvin hops this was. From the nose to the taste you get a wild ride of organic, earthy, piney varietals that keeps things oh so fresh. We enjoyed this so much that we bolstered our caravan’s load with a growler of it, along with a growler of PseudoSue. You know that if you’ve only got two growlers to take, and one is PseudoSue, then the other must be darn good as well!! Well here that beer is. It remains juicy, warming, creamy, and inviting throughout most aspects of the tasting. Even after nine or ten days of sitting on this growler (would have gotten to it sooner, but our rigorous travel schedule forbade it), it comes out pretty much the same way on top, compared to when we first sampled it at the bar days ago. The hops may have faded the slightest bit, but the overall thrust of it hasn’t begun to be hindered. It is great to be able to still find a unique beer amidst a growing sea of quality IPAs. Must-try for fans of the style or hopheads alike.

Zeelander glugs from the bottle shiny bronze. It tarnishes up a bit when the glass is full, glowing at the base and darkening as the glass flares. The foam is pure white and stiff the second it's poured, barely fading at all and leaving behind sticky lace that will have to be scrubbed from the glass. She's purty!

Uh oh, I've run across this last time I purchased Toppling Goliath, PseudoSue actually back in May or June, but thought the problem was solved. There are a lot of, to put it nicely, savory notes coming from this beer. Onion and oregano jump immediately to mind. This is not all bad, it has notes of dank earthiness I rather enjoy but it's just not how it's supposed to be. Deep pulls suggest some of the tropical notes usually present with Nelson but this batch has become onion-y.

The flavor, luckily, is less onion-y than the nose but that's still front and center. Doughy onion and oregano start it off and while they fade they do run through the finish. Apricot is the most vibrant aspect of Nelson while other soft tropicals, like peppery mango and papaya, flash here and there. Some of that character blows off as it warms to near room temp.

The mouthfeel is right. Medium bodied with ample carbonation to keep things moving. A moderate plus bitterness is welcomed. Drinkability is high. Mouthfeel is spot on. Bitterness is ever growing.

I'm a fan of this beer, I really am. The off character doesn't fit and there's a problem there but as is it is still a good beer. It's a shame that the last two Toppling Goliath beers I've purchased, using different hops, have both had that onion/oregano characteristic. I hope this gets figured out.

First tasted on-tap at the brewery. Rating based on growler enjoyed now.
I chose the ZeeLander for my growler to-go instead of PseudoSue because it was unique. I hadn't tasted anything like this before. PseudoSue is great, no doubt about it, but we're surrounded by great ales on the West Coast and push comes to shove I choose uniqueness.
I'm very happy with my choice.
This beer is phenomenal.
Beautiful clowdy-golden appearance with abundant head. Aroma somewhat mild. Grain, sweetness. Fruity. A little pine. Taste follows but more pronounced.
Perfectly balanced and flavorful.
Very sessionable. At 5.5% ABV I can drink this all day.

22oz bomber poured into a tulip glass. Looks a hazy yellow with a one finger head. Very hoppy smell upfront that has some very citrusy undertones. Taste is all hops upfront and then mellows out. Absolutely amazing beer!

Appearance: Pours a bright and hazy golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid two fingers of white head with decent retention. Leaves a good amount of lacing.

Smell: A very ripe and juicy hop forward aroma with big hints of citrus and pine. Upfront scent of citrus hops with juicy hints of orange, grapefruit, lemon, mango, tangerine, pineapple, and melon. Earthy and herbal hops with hints of pine resin, grass, and a little onion like scent. Nicely juicy and dank. Background pale malt scent with hints of caramel, grains, cracker, and yeast. A very good tropical aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a very juicy and ripe hop driven taste with big notes of citrus fruit and pine. Upfront mix of citrus esters with notes of orange, grapefruit, lemon, pineapple, mango, tangerine, and melon. Dank piney hops along with some grass. Fairly oily. Solid backing presence of pale malt with notes of grains, cracker, caramel, and yeast. Very citrus forward and nicely sharp and bitter. A very good west coast style taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Juicy, creamy, and oily with a drying finish.

Overall: A very good juicy West Coast style IPA. Nice citrus and pine flavor with a nice clean bitterness.